ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...28GSection:Telescopes and InstrumentationAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Gilmozzi, R.; Spyromilio, J.AA(ESO) AB(ESO)Abstract:We live in interesting times. Last year was our first with all four 8-m telescopes in operation. We had only one instrument per telescope but we were kept busy with UVES and ISAAC working round the clock and commissioning and installations during bright time when FORS1 and FORS2 were taking a breather. Now at the end of 2002 we look at Paranal and a very different picture appears in front of us.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...30HSection:Telescopes and InstrumentationAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Hainaut, O.AA(ESO)Abstract:This year has seen a major restructuring of the internal workings of La Silla observatory. While this is not immediately obvious to the visiting astronomer, it prepares the observatory for the future and decreasing staffing levels. In particular, the engineering and telescope teams have been reorganized and now constitute two departments: (1) La Silla Engineering Department (LED). This is a merger of the previous Mechanics, Electronics and Instrumentation teams. This department is responsible for the maintenance of the telescopes and projects taking place at La Silla. (2) La Silla Science Operations (SciOp). This team actually operates the telescopes. The Infrastructure Support Group (ISG), Software and Communications (SWC), Logistics, and Management departments all keep the same structure as before.

Reports from Observers

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...32SSection:Reports from ObserversAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Santos, N. C.; Mayor, M.; Queloz, D.; Udry, S.AA(Observatoire de Genève, Sauverny, Switzerland) AB(Observatoire de Genève, Sauverny, Switzerland) AC(Observatoire de Genève, Sauverny, Switzerland) AD(Observatoire de Genève, Sauverny, Switzerland)Abstract:The widely accepted picture of stellar formation tells us that a planetary system is a simple by-product of the stellar formation process. When a cloud of gas and dust contracts to form a star, conservation of angular momentum induces the formation of a flat disk around the central newborn “sun”. By a process still not fully understood, this disk is believed to be the stage for the planetary formation. According to the traditional paradigm, dust particles and ice grains in the disk are gathered to form the first planetary seeds (e.g. Pollack et al. 1996). In the “outer” regions of the disk, where ices can condensate, these “planetesimals” are thought to grow in a few million years. When such a “planetesimal” achieves enough mass (about 10 times the mass of the Earth), its gravitational pull is sufficiently strong for it to start accreting gas in a runaway process that gives origin to a giant gaseous planet similar to the outer planets in our own Solar System. Later on, in the inner part of the disk, where temperatures are too high and volatiles cannot condensate, silicate particles are gathered to form the telluric planets like our Earth.References:Boss A.P., 1997, Science 276, 1836.Charbonneau D., Brown T.M., Latham D.W.,Mayor M., 2000, ApJ 529, L45.Goldreich P., Tremaine S., 1980, ApJ 241,425.Israelian G., Santos N.C., Mayor M., ReboloR., 2001, Nature 411, 163.Jorissen A., Mayor M., Udry S., 2001, A&A379, 992.Mayor M., Queloz D., 1995, Nature 378,355.Pollack J.B., Hubickyj O., Bodenheimer P.,Lissauer J.J., Podolak M., Greenzweig Y.,1996, Icarus 124, 62.Saar S.H., Donahue R.A., 1997, ApJ 485,319.Santos N.C., Israelian G., Mayor M., 2001,A&A 373, 1019.Wolszczan A., Frail D. A., 1992, Nature 355,145.

Other Astronomical News

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...42KSection:Other Astronomical NewsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Kissler-Patig, M.AA(ESO)Abstract:Globular cluster systems were established in the last decade as powerful tools for the study of galaxy formation and evolution. For this purpose they are used in nearby galaxies with as much success as the diffuse stellar populations and complement the latter studies by being superior in several practical aspects. For instance, globular clusters are better chronometers than the diffuse stellar population since each globular cluster can be identified as a single- age population. The age determination of the major globular cluster subpopulations allows one to precisely date the star formation events in the host galaxy.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...44SSection:Other Astronomical NewsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Shaver, P.; van Dishoeck, E.AA(ESO) AB(Leiden)Abstract:With the recent approvals by the ESO Council and the US National Science Board for the construction of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), it was thought timely to update the European astronomical community on the project and to solicit input on the plans for science operations and user support. To this end, a one-day meeting was held at ESO Headquarters in Garching on Friday, 8 November. It was very well attended; the auditorium was filled to capacity with some 100 participants from all over Europe.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...44GSection:Other Astronomical NewsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Glindemann, A.AA(ESO)Abstract:On the verge of becoming a major science facility, the VLTI was the subject of one of the workshops at this year’s Joint European and National Astronomical Meeting in Porto (Portugal) in September. The two and a half day workshop had the aim of introducing interferometry and the VLTI to the non-expert. About 65 participants, many of them young and from outside the interferometric community (the two essentials for success) showed the large interest in interferometry.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...45MSection:Other Astronomical NewsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Madsen, C.AA(ESO)Abstract:ESO has always been a forwardlooking organization, focussed on present and future programmes and projects. In its 40th year, this is as true as ever, as ESO keeps its eyes on implementing the VLTI, initiating the development of the second-generation instrumentation for the VLT and, of course, embarking on Phase II of the ALMA project, for which the ESO Council gave the green light at its midyear meeting in London. Still, a 40th anniversary warrants a look at the decades passed and a reflection on the role and achievements of the organization during a period of time in which our science has progressed tremendously. That ESO has achieved its goals is undisputed, providing evidence of the wisdom of those astronomers who gathered in Leiden in early 1954 to formulate the need for this organization and justifying the trust displayed by the five countries, which were the original signatories to the 1962 convention that formed the legal base for ESO.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...46MSection:Other Astronomical NewsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Madsen, C.AA(ESO)Abstract:In the days November 11–13, about 9000 scientists, science administrators and policy makers gathered in Brussels to attend the Launch Conference for the ‘6th Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities’ – or for short, ‘FP-6’. While most participants came from the member states of the European Union, candidate countries and associated states, the meeting was in fact attended by people from 65 countries, demonstrating the wide scope and the importance of the process set in motion to create the European Research Area. Some 50 TV teams and 230 journalists from the print media covered the event, which El País, the leading Spanish newspaper, described as ‘The Science Summit in Brussels’. The strong media interest bears witness to the fact that science and technology (and with them, also education) are playing an increasingly important and visible role in the public sphere and that the organization and execution of research, as well as the exploitation of scientific results, are assuming importance in the mainstream political debate.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...48ESection:Other Astronomical NewsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Ellison, S.AA(ESO)Abstract:A version of this article first appeared in August 2002 in the online publication Next Wave (www.nextwave.org), published by Science Magazine on the occasion of the UK joining ESO. As Sara Ellison describes, she has been a Paranal Fellow for the past two years and is currently in her third year at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110...48.Section:Other Astronomical NewsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):ESOAA(ESO)Abstract:On October 21, 2002, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile, Mrs. María Soledad Alvear, and the ESO Director General, Dr. Catherine Cesarsky, signed an Agreement that authorizes ESO to establish a new centre for astronomical observation in Chile.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110Q..51.Section:AnnouncementsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):ESOAA(ESO)Abstract:Many ESO Conference and Workshop Proceedings are still available and may be ordered at the European Southern Observatory. Some of the more recent ones are listed below.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110S..51BSection:AnnouncementsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Breysacher, J.AA(ESO)Abstract:On December 1st, 2002, after thirty- seven years of service, first in Chile and then in Garching, Ms. Christa Euler will leave ESO to enjoy a welldeserved retirement. Among the current staff, she is probably the only person who started her career at ESO just four years after the Organization was founded.

ADS BibCode:2002Msngr.110T..51HSection:AnnouncementsAuthor(s)/Affiliation(s):Hofstadt, D.AA(ESO)Abstract:On December 1st, 2002, after thirty- seven years of service, first in Chile and then in Garching, Ms. Christa Euler will leave ESO to enjoy a welldeserved retirement. Among the current staff, she is probably the only person who started her career at ESO just four years after the Organization was founded.